UNDERSTANDING KISSINGER

The first part of Niall Ferguson's biography of former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, who turns 95 later this month, has just been published in China. Fang Aiqing reports.

More than 40 years has passed since Henry Kissinger was US secretary of state. Yet his voice still matters. And Kissinger's counsel and contributions to the bilateral relationship are still respected by Chinese leaders.

As Kissinger - a key figure in Sino-US relations since the 1970s - turns 95 on May 27, a Chinese version of Kissinger: 1923-1968 The Idealist, the first part of the two-volume biography of the man by British historian Niall Ferguson, has been published in China, three years after its release in the US.